Apparatus for treating yarn



Feb. 17, 1953 w z 2,628,405

APPARATUS FOR TREATING ARN Filed Aug. 27, 1948 2 SHEETSSHEET l IN V EN TOR. EdwardA. e22/z Feb. 17, 1953 E. A. WENTZ APPARATUS FOR TREATING YARN 2 SHEET $SHEET 2 Filed Aug. 27, 1948 INVENTOR. EdwardA. Wzz/z MW ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 17, 1953 UNITED STATES APPARATUS FOR TREATING YARN Edward A. Wentz, Jersey City, N. 1., assignor to Specialties Development Corporation, Belleville, N. J a corporation of New Jersey Application August 27, 1948, Serial No. 46,526

3 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to apparatus for treating yarn and the like by wetting, stretching and drying the same to increase its tensile strength and to decrease the stretch thereof, and more particularly is concerned with apparatus for carrying out a process, such as disclosed in United States Patent No. 2,220,958 in an improved manner.

In the process disclosed in the aforementioned patent, cord, yarn or roving is impregnated with a bonding agent to permeate the same and the individual fibers thereof, is tensioned to stretch the same and to effect elongation thereof, and is dried while in stretched or elongated condition to set the bonding agent whereby the tensile strength of the yarn or the like is increased and the stretch thereof is decreased.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide apparatus for treating yarn generally in the foregoing manner to improve the quality of the processed yarn.

Another object is to provide apparatus for treating yarn whereby tensioning and elongation of the yarn are facilitated.

Another object is to provide apparatus for treating yarn in the foregoing manner wherein tensioning and elongation can be more accurately controlled.

Another object is to provide apparatus for treating yarn wherein the yarn is tensioned and elongated in an improved manner in relation to the impregnating and drying steps.

Another object is to provide apparatus for accomplishing the foregoing which is simple, practical and economical in operation.

A further object is to provide apparatus adapted to handle a great number of strands of yarn without unduly increasing the size of the apparatus or complicating the same.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

In accordance with the invention, the foregoing objects are accomplished by providing apparatus whereby a strand of yarn is frictionally engaged at a plurality of zones between impregnation of the yarn and completion of the drying thereof in an improved manner to substantially eliminate or to prevent slippage thereof to an extent whereby the degree of stretch can be controlled effectively. The yarn is positively advanced at these zones at successively increasing rates to effect elongation thereof in relation to the tension effect which is desired to be created or maintained in the yarn. More particularly,

the apparatus generally comprises two or more power driven pull rolls over which one or more strands pass, each roll having means formed thereon, such as annular V-shaped grooves, for frictionally engaging and wedging therein a strand of yarn to prevent slippage thereof in re-' lation to the rolls and each roll being operated at a successively higher surface speed in increasing relation to the direction in which the yarn travels. These grooves further effect compression of the yarn upon being wedged therein to condition the in detail the pull rolls utilized in the apparatus shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a further enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken through one of the V-shaped grooves, illustrating a strand of yarn wedged therein. 7

Figure 4 is a sectional view illustrating the cross-section of a strand of yarn enlarged to the same scale as the strand shown in Figure 3 before being wedged. I

Referring to the drawings in detail, and more particularly to Figure 1 thereof, apparatus for processing yarn in accordance with the invention is illustrated schematically which generally comprises means for supplying yarn to be treated, impregnating means, means for drying 'the' yarn,

winding means for packaging the treated yarnga plurality of pull rolls for advancing and/or tensioning the yarn, and a plurality of guide rolls or idlers over which the yarn is passed. The apparatus shown is of the type adapted to simultaneously treat a large number of strands of yarn, for example fifty, three being shown by way of illustration, but its construction may be varied to treat single strands or any desired number of strands without departing from the present invention.

The yarn supply meanscomprises a plurality;

of bonding agent left in the yarn. The roll l2 isv driven at a higher surface speed than the. rolls. [5 to relax the yarn prior to passing between the rolls l5 and thereby further aidimpregnation,

The rolls l5 deliver the yarn to the first of a series of pull rolls of substantially identical construction about to be described.

The yarn, so delivered, passes over a pull roll IS, an idler I1, and a second pull roll l9, through.

a drying chamber, such as an oven 20, over a third Dulkroll, 21, back through the oven, over an. idler 2.21 a, fourth pull roll 24, anidler 25, a uiderollifi and idlers 21 for guiding each strand individually toa packagewinder 29.

It will, be understood that the yarn could be passed only once, through a longer oven thus eliminatingthe need of' the third pull roll, 2| or that. the yarn could be passed through a shorter oven more. than twice byincreasing the number of. pull rolls, at the ends of the oven in accordancewith the; number of passes desired.

InFigureZ, the-1 first. pull roll I6 is shown in detail; and serves to illustrate the pull rolls I9, 2.]; andz l as. well. Theroll is generally cylindrical, and. has a. plurality of. lengthwise, equally spaced V.-shaped annular grooves 30 formed on the outer surface thereof, thenumber of grooves corresponding to the. number of strands of yarn to; be; simultaneously treated by the apparatus, each, groove being adapted to receive a single strand As shown in Figure 3, the grooves 30 are. provided bysurfaces. 3| meeting at an included angle approximately 30 degrees. In practicing the invention, it is preferred that the grooves are about Vg;i1 10h;.ln depth and that. the surfaces 3| meet sharply: at thebottom: 32 of the grooves with a radius therebetween not exceeding. .01 inch. Such grooves are of a size and shape to. enable them to accommodate a large variety of yarns of varying. diameter- In-accordance with the invention, these grooves,

cause the yarn to be wedged therein whereby the-yarnjs. gripped frictionally to prevent slippagein relation tothe pull rolls. This enables therollsto positively advance or pull the yarn through the processing apparatus and stretch, or tension the yarn a predetermined degree. between rolls, arranged in sequence. Generally,

this is, accomplished by causing the. rolls to be rotated at. surface speeds at the bottom of the.

grooves. which successively increase in relationto.

thedirection in..which.the yarn travels.

For. example, inoperating the apparatus in its preferredmannerLthe roll 19 has a sufliciently greater surface speed, than the roll ['6 to thereby advance the yarn at the zone provided by the r0111 l9 at amore rapid rate. than the yarn is advanced at the zone provided by the roll it and to thereby effect elongation and tensioning of theyarn to almostits breaking point while advancing between the rolls l6 and H9. The roll 21 has-a sufficiently greater surface speed than the-roll l9 and' the roll 24 has at least thesame or sufliciently greater surface speed than the roll H to advance theyarn at the zones provided by these rolls at a rate to take up any slack in the yarn due to stretching or relaxing of the fibers thereof while advancing between these rolls during the drying operation, while at the same time tensioning the yarn at a value sufficient to retain the elongation imparted to the yarn between the rolls l5 and I9.

In practice, it is desirable and advantageous that the rolls l6, I9, 2| and 24 be power driven from a common source and be positively interconnected by gearing and/or chains and sprockets so that the rolls at all times are locked and driven in synchronism at definite predetermined related speeds without accidental slippage between rolls.. Thus, by reason of the yarn being gripped positively by the grooves in the rolls and the drive interconnection of the rolls, the yarn can be subjected to definite, accurately controllable conditions of elongation and tension to carry out the process in an improved manner.

In practice, the, relative speeds of the rolls are varied in. predetermined increments by change gears or variable drive connections (not shown) to obtain the desired elongation to process the yarn. Forexample, the roll I9 is operated at a constantspeed While the roll I5 is operated at a lower speed which is varied in relation to the speed of the roll l9; the roll 2| is operated at a higher speed than the roll l9; and the roll 24 is operated at the same or a higher speed thanrthe roll 2l which speed is varied in relation to the speed of the roll l9, while the speed of the roll 2| is, varied in relation to the speed of the roll 24. Therwinders 29 are operated at speeds to take, up the yarn and form wound packages at the. rate theyarn is supplied by theroll 2B.

In illustrating the apparatus, the interconnected drive for the rolls and the speed, changing arrangement has been omitted, for; sirnplicitm becauseitisbelieved-that those skilled inthejartr will understand the invention Without such showing and description thereof indetail.

Another feature of. the pull rolls, particularly: the rolls l6 and I9, is thatithewedgingaction of:

the yarn into: the groove causes. compressive forcesv to be-applied to theyarn to ,squeeze itzfrom';

its normal circularcross-sectional shapes are shown in Figure 4, to an oval crossrseetional; shape asg shown inFigure 3. Such compressive action-is.- believed to be; beneficial in; aiding: iinpregnation and arranging the fibers, of theyarn to improve elongation. ahdgsubsequent bonding of;

betweenthe rolls, l6. and; I9, is driedbetween the. rolls; I 9 and, ZJ and thev rolls. 2|. and. 24,. and. is:.

themwound into: packagesby' asuitable wind'en.

By the term: yarn, as used herein, is meant yarns composed of bundles or interconnected individual fibers of animal, vegetable or mineral matter, natural or synthetic, which yarns are capable ofimprovement in quality by processes:

generally comprising wetting, stretching anddrying of the yarn.

From the foregoing description, itwill' be seen that the present invention provides an improved apparatus; for treating yarns and the, like to.

enhance theirphysical characteristics. The apparatus is simple in construction and practical and economical in operation and produces yarn which is processed in an accurately controlled manner.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for treating a plurality of individual ends of yarn to increase the tensile strength thereof, the combination of a pull roll, power driven means for rotating said roll at a given surface speed, a second pull roll, power driven means for rotating said second roll at a higher surface speed than said first roll, said rolls each having a plurality of lengthwise spaced, annular, V-shaped grooves provided by surfaces meeting at an included angle of approximately thirty degrees for frictionally engaging and wedging the yarn therein to prevent slippage thereof in relation to said rolls, said grooves of each of said rolls corresponding in number and being arranged to cooperate for handling individual ends of yarn corresponding in number to the grooves of each of said rolls, and means arranged for guiding each individual end of yarn about each of said rolls for substantially less than one complete turn but at least about one half turn.

2. In apparatus for treating a plurality of individual ends of yarn to increase the tensile strength thereof, the combination of a pull roll, power driven means for rotating said roll at a given surface speed, a second pull roll, power driven means for rotating said second roll at a higher surface speed than said first roll, a third pull roll, power driven means for rotating said third pull roll at a higher surface speed than said second roll, said rolls each having a plurality of lengthwise spaced, annular, V-shaped grooves provided by surfaces meeting at an included angle of approximately thirty degrees for frictionally engaging and wedging the yarn therein to prevent slippage thereof in relation to said rolls, said grooves of each of said rolls corresponding in number and being arranged to cooperate for handling individual ends of yarn corresponding in number to the grooves of each of said rolls and means arranged for guiding each individual end of yarn about each of said rolls for substantially less than one complete turn but at least about one half turn.

3. In apparatus for treating a plurality of individual ends of yarn to increase the tensile strength thereof, the combination of a pull roll.

power driven means for rotating said roll at a given surface speed, a second pull roll, power driven means for rotating said second roll at a higher surface speed than said first roll, a third pull roll, power driven means for rotating said third pull roll at a higher surface speed than said second roll, a fourth pull roll, power driven means for rotating said fourth pull roll at a higher surface speed than said third roll, said rolls each having a plurality of lengthwise spaced, annular, V-shaped grooves provided by surfaces meeting at an included angle of approximately thirty degrees for frictionally engaging and wedging the yarn therein to prevent slippage thereof in relation to said rolls, said grooves of each of said rolls corresponding in number and being arranged to cooperate for handling in-- dividual ends of yarn corresponding in number to the grooves of each of said rolls, a guide roll adjacent to said first pull roll, a second guide roll between said first and second pull roll positioned to cooperate with said first guide roll for guiding each individual end of yarn about said first pull roll for substantially less than one complete turn 7 but at least about one half turn, said second pull roll and said second guide roll being positioned to cooperate with each other for guiding the ends of yarn about said secondpull roll for substantially less than one complete turn but at least about one half turn, a third guide roll between said third and fourth pull rolls positioned to cooperate with said second pull roll for guiding the ends of yarn about said third pull roll for substantially less than one complete turn but at least about one half turn, and a fourth guide roll adjacent said fourth pull roll, said third and fourth guide rolls being positioned to cooperate with each other for guiding the ends of yarn about said fourth pull roll for substantially less than one complete turn but at least about one half turn.

EDWARD A. WENTZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,040,105 Ritzert May 12, 1936 2,077,492 Ritzert Apr. 20, 1937 2,142,717 Dreyfus et a1 Jan. 3, 1939 2,304,206 Reichel Dec. 8, 1942 2,306,660 Gift Dec. 29, 1942 2,365,068 Grimes Dec. 12, 1944 2,389,378 Symmes Nov. 27, 1945 2,464,502 Hall Mar. 15, 1949 2,464,536 Solliday Mar. 15, 1949 2,474,927 Young July 5, 1949 

